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NOTES 


ON  THE 


•  GEOLOGY 


OF 


Onondaga  County,  N.Y. 


EMBRACING 

A  short  description  of  the  various  eras,  periods  and  groups, 
together    with    statements    as   to  their  (i)  outcrop, 
(2)  thickness,  (3)  economic  importance,  (4)  fos- 
sils, (5)  favorable  localities  for  study. 


BY. 

PHILIP  F.  SCHNEIDER. 
t| 


PRICE,    -    -    THIRTY-FIVE  CENTS. 


SYRACUSE,  N.  Y., 

HALL  &  MCCHESNEY,  Printers, 

1894- 


Copyrighted,  1894, 

by 
PHILIP  F.  SCHNEIDER. 


PREFATORY  NOTE. 


The  following  treatise  is  practically  the  same  as  that 
submitted  to  the  Syracuse  University  in  June,  1893,  for 
the  degree  of  Master  of  Philosophy. 

The  work  will  be  found  serviceable  in  locating  and 
identifying  the  various  geological  epochs  found  in  this 
vicinity.  The  Descriptions  are  not  designed  to  be  suffi- 
cient in  themselves  for  identifying  specimens.  They  were 
added  simply  to  give  students,  doing  field  work  in  our 
county,  a  list  of  the  more  abundant  species.  We  can,  how- 
ever, by  knowing  the  exact  localities  in  which  certain 
periods,  groups  and  layers  occur,  together  with  the  speci- 
mens found  in  them,  practically,  although  not  positively, 
identify  many  of  the  fossils  from  the  descriptions  given. 

PHILIP  F.  SCHNEIDER. 
SYRACUSE,  N.  Y.,  January,  1894. 


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Geology  of  Onondaga  County,  N.  Y. 


INTRODUCTION. 

Onondaga  County,  N.  Y.,  presents  to  the  naturalist 
one  of  the  finest  places  in  the  State  for  the  study  of  geol- 
ogy, and  it  is  doubtful  whether  we  could  find  another  place 
of  like  dimensions  anywhere  in  the  United  States  which 
would  present  more  features  of  interest.  Not  only  are 
the  rocks  presented  here  extremely  regular,  but,  dipping 
slightly  as  they  do,  we  have  successively  brought  to  the 
surface  rocks  belonging  to  the  Upper  Silurian,  and  to  the 
Lower  and  Upper  Devonian  Ages. 

The  dip  of  the  rock  is  slightly  west  of  south,  and  is 
about  twenty-six  feet  to  the  mile,  while  the  outcrop  ex- 
tends in  a  line  running  nearly  east  and  west.  From  the 
preceding  statement  it  will  be  seen  that  the  dip  is  not  so 
slight  as  to  present  for  study  only  the  unbroken  line  of 
one  formation,  neither  is  it  so  great  as  to  compel  us  to 
draw  our  conclusions  from  an  insufficient  number  of  facts ; 
for  the  periods,  with  one  exception,  crop  out  in  lateral 
bands,  which  are  several  miles  in  breadth. 

There  are  seven  different  periods  found  in  the  county, 
they  are:  the  Niagara,  Salina,  Lower  Helderberg,  Oris- 
kany,  Corniferous,  Hamilton  and  Chemung.  For  conven- 
ence  of  description  the  various  geological  periods  are  sub- 
divided into  smaller  divisions  or  groups.  These  groups 
are  more  local  in  distribution  and  character  than  are  the 
arger  divisions,  and  consequently  we  need  not  be  sur- 
prised because  we  do  not  find  in  our  county  all  the  groups 
nto  which  these  seven  periods  are  divided.  Some  of 


these  groups  are  found  to  the  east  of  us,  but  gradually 
thin  out  toward  the  westward,  and  have  entirely  disap- 
peared before  reaching  us,  e.  g.,  the  Schoharie  Grit,  of 
the  Corniferous  Period.  Again,  although  we  have  numer- 
ous exposures  of  the  Niagara  Period  in  our  county,  never- 
theless, not  all  the  groups  composing  it  are  found  here,. 
e.  g.,  the  Medina  Sandstone,  although  extensively  found 
in  Oswego  County,  just  north  of  us,  is  nowhere  found  ex- 
posed in  our  county. 

Of  the  numerous  groups  into  which  these  seven 
periods  are  divided,  fourteen  are  found  in  Onondaga 
County.  A  complete  description  of  each  of  these  groups 
will  be  given  later,  when  we  speak  more  particularly  con- 
cerning the  various  periods. 

The  rocks  found  in  our  county  belong  almost  entirely 
to  the  class  known  as  stratified  rocks.  Shale,  slate,  sand- 
stone and  limestone,  with  the  various  combinations  of 
these,  as  shaly  limestone,  calciferous  sandstone,  etc.,  form 
the  prevailing  kinds  of  rock.  In  addition  to  these,  how- 
ever, we  find  a  vast  quantity  of  drift  scattered  over  the 
surface  of  the  county,  and  mixed  with  its  soil.  This  drift 
is  composed  of  many  large  and  medium  sized  bdwlders, 
together  with  a  great  deal  of  fine  sand  and  gravel.  In 
composition  it  is  extremely  variable,  some  of  the  bowlders 
are  quartzytes,  others  are  schistose,  others  micas,  etc. ,  but 
the  greater  portion  are  so  different  from  any  of  the  rocks 
found  in  place  in  our  county  that  they  must  have  come 
from  some  other  source.  We  also  find  a  great  deal  of  cal- 
careous tufa,  or  travertine.  Not  only  is  this  peculiar  rock 
found  in  many  places  upon  the  surface,  but  in  the  form  of 
stalactites  and  stalagmites  it  also  covers  the  ceilings  and 
floors  of  those  caves  found  in  the  county.  Marl  is  another 
substance  that  is  found  to  a  considerable  extent.  Many 
of  our  lakes  are  continually  depositing  it.  Serpentine  also 
occurs,  although  very  sparingly.  We  will  speak  more 


concerning  all  of  these  interesting  deposits  in  another  por- 
tion of  our  treatise. 

In  describing  the  various  systems  of  rocks,  we  will 
suppose  that  we  begin  our  trip  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
the  county,  near  Oneida  Lake,  and  by  traveling  in  a  south- 
western direction  we  will  complete  it  at  the  southern  boun- 
dary, near  Skaneateles  Lake.  Distances,  however,  will  be 
computed  from  Syracuse. 

Our  starting  point,  at  the  outlet  of  Oneida  Lake,  is 
about  twenty- six  feet  lower  than  Syracuse,  and  is,  there- 
fore, 369  feet  above  tide  water.  In  our  trip  we  will  cross 
the  outcrop  at  nearly  right  angles.  We  will  first  pass  over 
the  great  level,  and  after  passing  a  line  parallel  with  the 
city,  we  will  gradually  begin  to  ascend  the  hills,  while  the 
latter  part  of  our  journey  will  be  one  constant  ascending 
and  descending  of  hills.  The  highest  elevation  which  we 
will  find  is  FABIUS  MOUNTAIN,  2,015  ^eet  above  tide  water. 

The  scenery  of  the  entire  route  over  which  we  will 
pass  is  extremely  picturesque.  From  the  sides  of  the  vari- 
ous hills  crystal  streams  of  the  purest  water  trickle  down, 
making  the  valleys  virtually  ' '  blossom  as  the  rose. "  Over 
the  sides  of  the  slopes  and  down  the  ravines,  dash  rapids 
and  cascades  of  remarkable  beauty  and  size ;  one  of  them 
even  competing  with  the  noted  Niagara  in  height  of  fall. 
Climbing  to  the  tops  of  the  hills,  we  will  be  bountifully 
repaid  for  our  toil  by  the  beautiful  panorama  which  every- 
where meets  the  eye.  It  is  asserted  that  from  the  top  of 
one  of  the  elevations  in  Pompey  seven  different  counties 
can  be  seen. 

Our  lakes,  also,  are  a  source  of  pardonable  pride,  and 
this  thesis  would  be  incomplete  without  a  few  words  con- 
cerning some  of  them.  Skaneateles  Lake,  soon  to  become 
the  water  supply  of  Syracuse,  is  a  beautiful  body  of  water 
eighteen  miles  in  length.  It  has  no  visible  inlet  of  any 
size,  and  its  water  supply  is  supposed  to  be  kept  up  by 
numerous  springs. 

7 


The  Green  Lakes,  of  which  there  are  several  in  the 
county,  are  also  noted  far  and  wide.  The  bottom  of  those 
at  Manlius  goes  down  gradually  for  several  yards,  and 
then  suddenly  breaks  off,  going  straight  down  to  a  maxi- 
mum depth  of  1 80  feet.  Their  color  is  a  beautiful  green, 
especially  so  in  the  bright  sunshine,  while  the  water  is  so 
clear  that  trees  and  rocks  lying  at  considerable  depths  can 
be  clearly  and  distinctly  seen.  These  trunks  of  trees, 
branches,  etc. ,  have  for  many  years  excited  the  curiosity 
of  all  beholders,  for  the  persons  living  in  that  vicinity 
positively  assert  that  they  have  occupied  these  same  posi- 
tions from  the  time  that  the  early  settlers  first  saw  them. 
Furthermore,  these  logs  absolutely  refuse  to  decay.  An 
investigation  will  prove  that  these  stories  contain  more 
truth  than  one  might  at  first  suppose.  For,  besides  the 
fact  that  these  lakes  contain  quite  a  strong  solution  of  sul- 
phur, they  also  deposit  marl,  which  slowly  but  surely  cov- 
ers and  encrusts  everything  that  falls  into  them,  and  in 
this  way  the  form  of  the  substance  is  preserved.  Green 
Lake,  west  of  Jamesville,  differs  from  those  in  Manlius, 
not  only  in  the  fact  that  its  color  is  much  darker,  more 
dismal  looking  and  awe  inspiring,  but  also  in  the  fact  that 
it  is  almost  completely  surrounded  by  bold  and  precipitous 
walls  of  limestone,  which  rise  up  200  feet  above  the  sur- 
face of  the  water.  Hence,  should  we  happen  to  see  the 
place  for  the  first  time  while  alone,  and  also  on  a  dark  fore- 
boding day,  we  could  not  but  be  impressed  by  the  ex- 
treme stillness  of  the  place,  while  a  single  glance  down 
the  steep  banks  and  into  the  dark  green  water  below 
would  fill  our  hearts  with  the  remarkable  feelings,  first, 
of  awe  and  of  fear,  then  of  grandeur  and  sublimity  at  this 
wonderful  manifestation  of  the  Creator's  power  in  nature. 

These  lakes  have  long  furnished  sources  for  conjecture, 
but  it  seems  probable  that  at  some  time  or  other  the  water 
contained  in  them  was  on  a  level  with  the  surrounding 

8 


surface,  and  by  the  forming-  of  caves  in  the  rock  under- 
neath, the  bottom  afterwards  sunk  down,  leaving  the  lakes 
thus  with  their  precipitous  sides.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  out 
of  place  to  mention  in  this  connection  that  there  are  sev- 
eral large  caves  in  the  surrounding  limestone  rock ;  some 
of  these  have  never  been  thoroughly  explored. 

In  bringing  these  introductory  remarks  to  a  close,  we 
conclude,  not  because  we  have  exhausted  the  list  of  the 
natural  advantages  of  our  county,  but  because  enough  of 
them  have  been  mentioned  to  prove  the  statement  with 
which  we  started.  Hence,  we  refrain  from  enumerating 
others,  and  pass  on  to  that  portion  of  the  work  which  will 
treat  more  particularly  about  its  geological  facts  and  phe- 
nomena. 

THE  SILURIAN  AGE. 

S""  """  •*B^ 

The  Age  of  Invertebrates,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  has 
been  subdivided  into  two  parts:  the  Lower  and  Upper 
Silurian  Ages.  Since  the  first  of  these  divisions  is  nowhere 
found  exposed  in  our  county,  we  will  leave  it  without 
further  notice  and  say  a  few  words  concerning  the  second. 

The  Upper  Silurian  Age  is  introduced  with  a  limestone 
formation,  has  some  courses  of  shale  and  a  large  distribu- 
tion of  limestone.  It  is  divided  into  three  periods:  the 
Niagara,  Salina  and  Lower  Helderberg.  As  a  whole,  the 
character  of  these  different  formations  indicates  an  epoch 
when  there  were  shallow  waters,  or  even  swamps  and 
marshes.  The  mud-cracks  and  ripple-marks  of  the  Medina 
Sandstone,  or  the  immense  hopper-shaped  pseudomorphs 
of  the  Salina  Period  clearly  indicate  this. 

This  age  is  marked  by  an  abundance  of  life,  especially 
the  marine ;  land  animals  probably  did  not  exist,  although 
•a  few  terrestrial  plants  grew  in  the  swamps  and  marshes. 
Vertebrates,  however,  were  still  unknown,  none  of  them 
being  found  until  we  come  to  the  Devonian  Age. 


NIAGARA  PERIOD. 

This  is  the  first  period  that  we  will  find  in  our  study  of 
the  rocks  of  this  county.  As  its  name  would  lead  us  to 
suppose,  it  is  over  a  part  of  the  rocks  of  this  period  that 
the  noted  cataract  of  America  makes  its  descent.  The 
period  is  sub-divided  into  three  groups:  the  Medina,  the 
Clinton  and  the  Niagara. 

The  Medina  Group  with  its  two  divisions,  the  ONEIDA 
CONGLOMERATE  and  the  MEDINA  SANDSTONE,  is  nowhere 
exposed  in  our  county.  It  may,  however,  be  easily  studied 
in  Oswego  County,  just  north  of  us,  where  it  occurs  in 
situ. 

The  Clinton  Group  is  the  first  division  of  this  period 
found  in  our  county.  It  occurs  in  a  narrow  strip  across 
our  entire  northern  boundary.  Although  the  group  is 
about  eighty  feet  in  thickness,  it  is,  nevertheless,  difficult 
to  find  good  exposures,  since  it  is  usually  overlaid  by  sev- 
eral feet  of  soil  and  drift. 

By  digging  through  the  overlying  soil  near  the  shores 
of  Oneida  Lake,  we  come  to  a  dark  red  shale,  which  forms 
a  part  of  this  group.  Broken  fragments  of  the  shale  will 
also  be  found  scattered  along  both  banks  of  Oneida  River. 

There  are  also  some  soft,  brittle,  greenish-colored 
shales,  constituting  a  part  of  this  group,  that  are  also 
found  near  Oneida  Lake.  These  shales  form  the  bed  of 
the  small  creek  emptying  into  the  river  near  the  outlet  of 
the  lake.  They  also  constitute  the  small  knojl  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Brewerton  on  which  the  Disciples  Church  stands. 
The  shales  are  well  exposed  in  the  excavation  for  a  cellar 
just  north  of  the  church.  On  some  of  the  small  hillocks, 
where  the  overlying  soil  is  thin,  the  upper  surface  of  this 
shale  is  sometimes  broken  and  worked  up  in  ploughing. 
Several  of  our  northern  roads,  also,  cut  through  parts  of 
this  shale.  The  road  running  west  from  Brewerton  has. 


10 


an  exposure  just  before  crossing  the  Rome,  Watertown 
and  Ogdensburg  tracks,  and  another  just  beyond  the  rail- 
road. 

At  Three  River  Point  there  is  a  quantity  of  shale  that 
was  thrown  out  by  the  workmen  in  digging  for  the  foun- 
dation of  the  bridge.  The  shale  is  considerably  darker 
than  the  green  shale,  and  is  more  properly  called  a  blue 
shale.  It  is  the  only  exposure  of  its  kind  that  I  have  as 
yet  found  in  the  county. 

As  a  rule,  the  shales  composing  this  group  are  thin  and 
readily  broken,  and  are  usually  largely  colored  with  iron. 
Indeed,  in  many  places,  the  iron  ore  beds  found  in  this 
group  form  one  of  its  chief  characteristics.  Although  the 
group  is  usually  quite  fossiliferous,  nevertheless,  on  ac- 
count of  the  poor  exposures  found  here,  and  the  small  part 
of  the  group  which  they  cover,  we  cannot  obtain  a  repre- 
sentative collection  of  Clinton  fossils  from  our  county.  A 
few  small  brachiopods,  mostly  Spirifers,  the  Strophomena 
rhomboidalis,  Stropliodonta  (sp.\  together  with  numerous 
specimens  of  Fucoides,  are  all  that  I  have  as  yet  been  able 
to  find. 

vSince  several  of  the  adjoining  counties  have  this  shale 
so  much  more  advantageously  exposed,  we  will  find  it 
more  satisfactory  to  study  this  group  at  those  places,  or  in 
the  excellent  gorges  at  Rochester,  Lockport  or  Niagara, 
than  to  spend  much  time  at  the  exposures  found  in  our 
county. 

The  Niagara  Group  is  the  next  division  of  this  period, 
which  we  will  meet  by  continuing  in  our  course  toward 
the  south.  It  is  composed  of  two  divisions,  which  are 
known  as  the  Niagara  Shale  and  the  Niagara  Limestone. 
It  is  these  two  layers  that  occur  at  the  famous  falls.  At 
that  place  there  is  some  eighty  feet  of  limestone  overlying 
an  equal  amount  of  shale.  The  same  formation  extends 
in  an  easterly  direction  across  our  entire  State,  gradually 


ii 


growing  thinner  as  it  approaches  the  Hudson  River,  where 
it  entirely  disappears.  At  the-northwestern  corner,  where 
this  group  enters  our  county,  it  is  slightly  thicker  than  at 
Bridgeport,  on  the  eastern  border,  where  it  leaves  the 
county.  The  greatest  thickness  is  -not  more  than  seven 
feet,  there  being  four  or  five  feet  of  limestone  overlying 
some  two  feet  of  shale. 

There  are  several  places  where  the  group  is  exposed 
and  quarried,  although,  like  the  preceding,  it  is  largely 
covered  with  soil  and  drift.  Nevertheless,  as  the  limestone 
is  but  a  few  feet  in  thickness,  and  dips  toward  the  south, 
it  forms  a  sort  of  ledge  which  can  be  traced  across  the  en- 
tire county. 

This  group  can  be  recognized  by  its  dark  blue  and 
almost  black  color,  and  by  its  concretionary  structure. 
This  structure  is  characteristic  of  the  formation  wherever 
it  is  small  in  quantity.  Geodes  are  common  in  the  rock. 
They  are  usually  lined  with  the  rhombohedral  crystals  of 
carbonate  of  lime. 

The  most  western  exposure  in  the  county  is  at  Diet- 
rich's Quarry,  just  west  of  Lysander.  The  concretionary 
structure  is  clearly  shown  at  this  place ;  geodes  are  very 
abundant,  some  of  them  containing  crytals  of  dolomite. 
Although  the  layers  are  too  thin  for  a  good  building  stone, 
a  neighboring  lime-kiln,  much  dilapidated  at  present, 
shows  for  what  purpose  the  rock  has  been  used. 

At  Ham's  Quarry,  two  miles  northwest  of  Baldwinsville, 
we  have  another  exposure.  At  this  place  the  rock  is  about 
four  feet  in  thickness,  and  was  used  in  making  neighbor- 
ing culverts  on  the  railroad.  This  limestone  contained 
many  fucoides. 

At  Young's  Quarry,  half  a  mile  northeast  of  Clay  Sta- 
tion, the  exposure  is  not  more  than  two  feet  in  thickness. 
The  rock  was  darker  colored  than  at  Ham's  Quarry,  neither 
was  it  as  compact  and  fine  grained.  A  neighboring  bridge 

12 


on  the  Rome,  Watertown  and  Ogdensburg  Railroad  was 
built  with  stone  taken  from  this  quarry.  The  stone  at 
the  bridge  appeared  to  be  of  two  kinds,  a  dark  variety, 
containing  fucoides,  and  showing  the  concretionary  struc- 
ture in  a  marked  degree.  These  were  probably  the  lower 
Layers.  Another  variety,  harder  and  more  compact,  be- 
came lighter  colored  where  exposed  to  the  weather. 

At  Whiting's  Quarry,  near  Cicero,  this  limestone  is 
quarried  to  some  extent  and  used  for  a  building  stone.  It 
.s  also  burned  for  lime.  Geodes  are  numerous  at  this 
place. 

Although  the  Niagara  Group  is  usually  quite  fossilifer- 
ous,  in  our  county  it  does  not  possess  that  characteristic. 
Fucoidcs  are  very  abundant ;  a  small  Orthis  and  a  Leder- 
ditia  are  also  quite  common.  Some  of  the  limestone  from 
the  town  of  Clay  is  reported  to  be  oolitic  in  character,  al- 
though I  did  not  find  any  possessing  that  characteristic. 

This  group  is  important  economically,  because  it  fur- 
nishes a  fairly  good  building  stone  to  a  section  of  the 
county,  which  would  otherwise  be  lacking  in  good  build- 
ing material.  The  lime  that  is  obtained  from  this  rock  is 
also  important.  It  can  be  used  for  all  purposes  to  which 
that  article  is  put,  except  where  a  very  white  lime  is  re- 
quired. This  economic  value,  however,  is  limited  to  that 
region  where  the  outcrop  occurs,  and  is  not  important 
enough  to  furnish  one  of  the  exports  of  the  county. 

THE  SAUNA  PERIOD. 

The  Onondaga  Salt  Group,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  is 
attractive  to  the  casual  observer  as  well  as  to  the  geolo- 
gist. Its  pockets  of  selenite  and  its  seams  of  satin  spar  are 
not  only  the  wonder  of  our  county's  inhabitants,  but  of  all 
ts  visitors  as  well.  Its  immense  plaster  beds  are  a  wel- 
come factor  to  such  as  regard  the  group  merely  from  a 

13 


financial  standpoint,  while  its  vast  accumulations  of  salt 
make  it  a  source  of  comfort  and  enjoyment  to  us  all. 

The  period  is  divided  into  two  parts,  the  Lower  or  Red 
Shales ;  and  the  Upper  or  Green  Shales.  Although  both 
names  by  which  the  period  is  known  are  local,  the  extent 
of  the  rock  is  not,  for  it  reaches  in  a  strip  entirely  across 
our  own  State,  still  further  westward  into  Canada,  and 
then  again  recrosses  the  boundary  separating  that  country 
from  ours.  The  beds  of  rock  salt  found  in  Canada  and  in 
some  of  our  Central  States  belong  to  the  same  period. 
The  local  names  were  given  it  because  the  salt  which  it 
contains  was  discovered,  and  for  a  long  time  worked  only 
at  these  places. 

In  our  county  the  Erie  Canal  may  be  taken  as  the 
dividing  line  between  the  two  groups.  The  Red  Shales 
extend  across  the  county  in  a  lateral  belt  about  six  miles 
in  breadth  and  north  of  the  canal ;  the  Green  Shales  in  a 
similar  belt  three  miles  in  breadth  and  south  of  the  canal. 

The  Lower  Group,  or  Red  Shale,  is  for  the  most  part 
a  soft  red  marl;  mainly  composed  of  thin,  uneven  and 
brittle  reddish  shales,  with  a  few  thin  layers  of  sandstone. 
All  of  these  layers  readily  crumble  when  exposed  to  the 
atmosphere. 

There  is  an  excellent  exposure  two  miles  north  of  the 
city  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Oswego  Canal.  The  expos- 
ure is  about  twenty  feet  in  height,  and  extends  for  half  a 
mile.  A  few  layers  of  green  shale,  also  belonging  to  this 
group,  occur  at  the  same  place.  Two  other  exposures  of 
Red  Shale  occur  on  the  line  of  the  Rome,  Watertown  and 
Ogdensburg  Railroad.  The  first,  which  is  about  ten  feet 
in  height,  occurs  just  south  of  Woodard  Station ;  another, 
considerably  higher,  occurs  on  the  northern  side. 

The  conditions  existing  at  the  time  these  shales  were 
deposited  must  have  been  unfavorable  for  life,  for  we  do 
not  find  a  single  instance  of  fossil  life  in  the  entire  group. 


There  are  many  small  hills  scattered  throughout  this 
part  of  the  county,  which  deserve  a  word  of  mention.  On 
account  of  their  form,  some  of  these  have  become  linked 
in  the  popular  mind  with  the  works  of  the  ancient  mound- 
builders.  A  study  of  their  structure  and  composition, 
however,  will  readily  show  that  they  are  collections  of 
material  that  was  probably  gathered  together  and  left  in 
heaps  by  whirlpools  existing  in  the  great  interior  sea  that 
once  covered  this  part  of  the  country.  Some  of  them 
show  evidences  of  being  hills  of  circumdenudation. 

The  Red  Shales  are  extensively  used  in  the  manufac- 
ture of  brick.  Further  than  this  they  have  no  economic 
value. 

The  Upper  Group,  or  Green  Shales. — These  might 
more  truly  be  designated  the  gypseous  shales,  for  their 
color  is  not  a  green  throughout;  furthermore,  there  are 
some  layers  of  green  among  the  Red  Shales,  and  parts  of 
the  Clinton  Group  are  also  known  by  that  name. 

The  group  is  mainly  composed  of  clayey  shales,  which 
are,  as  a  rule,  quite  calcareous.  There  are  also  some  lay- 
ers of  magnesian  limestone.  The  group  varies  in  thick- 
ness from  500  to  700  feet,  and,  together  with  the  red  shales 
of  the  Lower  Group,  makes  a  maximum  thickness  of  1,000 
feet  for  the  entire  period. 

Several  interesting  deposits  are  found  in  this  group, 
some  of  which  we  will  now  consider.  The  first  forma- 
tions which  we  will  find  are  the  gypsum  and  plaster  beds. 
They  occur  throughout  the  entire  extent  of  this  group. 
The  plaster  rock,  which  is  merely  the  ordinary  name  for 
the  gypsum  bearing  shales,  is  quarried  in  large  quantities, 
and  used  extensively  as  a  fertilizer.  Immense  beds  have 
been  opened  up  in  Camillus,  Marcellus  and  Dewitt,  and 
.arge  quantities  have  been  taken  out  and  exported.  Neither 
are  the  towns  of  Manlius,  Onondaga  and  Elbridge  lacking 
in  this  commodity. 


The  plaster  rock  may  be  examined  at  the  quarries  in 
any  of  the  towns  mentioned,  or  at  South  Syracuse,  for- 
merly Brighton,  or  on  the  Split  Rock  Road,  three  miles 
southwest  of  the  city.  At  the  latter  place  there  are  some 
thick  seams  of  satin  spar,*  which  is  not  rare  in  any  of  the 
beds,  although  not  always  in  tHick  seams.  A.  mile  north- 
west of  Fayetteville,  at  the  cut  on  the  Chenango  Valley 
Railroad,  we  find  pure  whitef  and  the  transparent  gypsumf 
in  masses,  or  pockets,  in  the  rock. 

In  many  of  the  clayey  layers  overlying  the  beds  of  gyp- 
sum, we  find  large  hopper-shaped  crystals,  after  salt. 
These  are  interesting  to  us  as  geologists,  because,  until  re- 
cently, they  were  the  only  evidence  we  had  that  salt  ever 
existed  in  the  rocks  of  our  county.  These  hopper  casts, 
which  are  found  in  many  layers  of  this  group,  were  at  one 
time  immense  crystals  of  solid  salt.  This  salt  has  long 
since  been  washed  out  by  percolating  waters,  leaving  only 
these  pseudomorphs  in  the  clayey  shale.  It  is  the^c,  waters, 
holding  in  solution  the  salt  that  once  filled  the  hoppers, 
that  have  for  a  long  time  been  pumped  up,  boiled  and 
evaporated,  thus  furnishing  the  salt  for  which  our  county 
is  noted.  This  supposition  will  appear  more  plausible 
when  I  mention  the  fact  that  only  three  years  ago  a  well 
was  sunk  in  the  southern  part  of  our  county,  and  after 
passing  through  the  overlying  and  protecting  limestones, 
pure  rock  salt  was  found.  Since  that  time  many  other 
wells  have  been  drilled  through  the  overlying  rock  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  county,  and  in  every  instance  solid 
salt  has  been  found.  According  to  the  statements  of  the 
workmen,  they  drilled  through  some  1,600  feet  of  over- 
lying rock,  after  which  a  bed  of  ruck  salt,  varying  in  thick- 
ness from  60  to  200  feet,  was  found.  In  Tully  Valley 
there  are  thirty  such  wells.  Their  plan  of  operation  is  to 
allow  the  water  from  the  Tully  Lakes  to  flow  into  the 

*  Fibrous  gypsum,     t  Selenite. 

16 


wells,  and  after  it  has  absorbed  the  salt,  it  is  forced  up  and 
sent  on  to  the  Solvay  Process  Company.  As  this  brine  is 
much  stronger  than  that  pumped  up  near  Onondaga  Lake, 
it  is  probable  that  it  will  soon  supplant  that  article  alto- 
gether in  the  manufacture  of  salt. 

Still  another  interesting  deposit  found  in  this  group  is 
a  peculiar  calcareous  rock  called  magnesian,  or  vermicular 
limestone.  It  is  perforated  with  a  large  number  of  cavi- 
ties, somewhat  resembling  worm  borings.  It  is  calcareous 
in  composition,  and  resembles  porous  tufa  more  than  any- 
thing else.  The  pores  are  circular  and  somewhat  irregu- 
lar cavities,  often  communicating  with  each  other;  they 
extend  in  almost  every  direction  throughout  its  mass. 
The  intervening  rock  is  quite  solid.  The  cavities  vary 
in  vsize  from  those  whose  diameter  is  almost  infinitesimal 
to  those  which  are  over  a  quarter  of  an  inch  in  diame- 
ter. Although  the  rock  resembles  lava  quite  closely, 
and  at  first  one  might  almost  conclude  it  to  be  such, 
nevertheless  a  little  study  will  clearly  prove  its  mineral 
origin.  The  cells  are  no  doubt  due  to  the  simultane- 
ous forming  of  the  rock  and  of  some  soluble  mineral,  pro- 
bably a  magnesian  salt,  which  was  afterwards  washed  out, 
leaving  the  rock  in  its  present  porous  condition.  There 
are  two  masses  of  this  rock,  the  lower  being  about  twenty 
feet  thick.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  where  this  mass 
is  found  near  James  street  hill,  Syracuse,  it  contains  some 
rocks  of  a  crystalline  character,  which  are  serpentines. 
Serpentine  is  one  of  the  compounds  of  magnesia,  and  since 
it  is  found  in  the  vermicular  limestone,  it  would  seem  more 
probable  that  the  cavities  were  formed  in  the  manner  sug- 
gested. The  upper  mass  of  this  limestone  is  much  thin- 
ner than  the  lower,  often  dwindling  down  to  a  few  feet  in 
thickness. 

Vanuxem  was  one  of  the  first  to  show  that  in  the  Salina 
Period,  as  a  whole,  we  have  the  same  deposits  as  are  found 


in  the  salt  vats  where  solar  evaporation  takes  place.  In 
such  vats  we  first  find  a  deposit  of  oxide  of  iron,  impart- 
ing a  reddish  tint  to  everything  with  which  it  comes  in  con- 
tact. The  next  deposit  is  gypsum;  and  lastly,  we  have 
common  salt,  the  magnesium  and  calcium  chlorides  re- 
maining in  solution.  In  the  Salina  Period  we  have  the 
same  state  of  affairs.  First,  the  Red  Shales,  colored  with 
iron ;  second,  the  beds  of  gypsum ;  third,  the  argillaceous 
shales  with  their  hopper-shaped  pseudomorphs ;  while 
above  the  whole  we  find  the  vermicular  limestones  with 
their  somewhat  doubtful  traces  of  the  salts  of  magnesia. 

To  this  period  more  than  to  any  other,  the  city  of 
Syracuse  is  greatly  indebted.  In  the  early  history  of  our 
city,  it  was  the  salt  found  here  that  gave  to  Syracuse  its 
remarkable  growth,  and  even  at  the  present  time  it  forms 
no  small  part  of  our  wealth.  One  company,  the  Solvay 
Process,  uses  enormous  quantities  of  salt  water  in  the 
manufacture  of  soda  and  potash,  and  furnishes  employ- 
ment to  1,500  men.  Although  the  city  no  longer  depends 
on  its  trade  in  salt  for  its  wealth  and  position,  neverthe- 
less the  salt  industry  is  still  successfully  carried  on,  and 
Syracuse  will,  no  doubt,  always  be  known  as  the  "  City  of 
Salt." 

In  some  places  a  few  fossils  are  found  in  the  upper 
layers  of  this  group.  Only  one,  however,  a  lederditia,  is 
known  to  occur  in  our  county. 

LOWER  HELDERBERQ  PERIOD. 

In  our  ramblings  over  the  Upper  Group  of  the  Salina 
Period  we  have  gradually  ascended  a  rising  slope,  and  are 
now  beginning  to  find  ourselves  among  the  low  hills  of 
our  county,  while  a  little  farther  to  the  south  they  rise 
still  higher,  and  in  the  distance  seem  to  uphold  the  very 
skies. 


18 


The  next  exposure  of  rock  that  we  will  find,  or  a  glance 
at  the  stone  fences  around  us,  will  readily  show  that  we 
are  in  the  midst  of  a  limestone  formation,  and  that  we 
have  left  the  shales  of  the  Salina  Period  in  the  gentle 
slope  toward  the  north.  These  limestones  belong  to  the 
next  great  limestone  formation,  the  Lower  Helderberg. 
As  but  one  group  of  this  period,  the  Waterlime  Group, 
occurs  in  our  county,  the  other  groups  having  thinned  out 
and  disappeared  to  the  east  of  us,  we  will  speak  of  this 
group  as  the  Lower  Helderberg  Period.  It  comes  to  view 
in  many  places  in  the  county,  and  like  the  remaining 
periods  it  can  be  more  easily  studied  than  those  already 
found.  The  rocks  to  the  north  being  deeply  covered  with 
soil  and  drift,  while  those  to  the  south,  situated  among 
the  hills,  are  only  covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  soil,  and 
can  be  easily  studied  in  any  of  the  numerous  gorges  or 
ravines. 

Although  in  our  county  the  Lower  Helderberg  is  en- 
tirely a  limestone  formation,  nevertheless  there  are  two 
kinds ;  they  are  called  the  blue  and  the  drab.  The  former 
is  extensively  burned  in  the  manufacture  of  the  ordinary 
quicklime,  and  the  latter  for  the  waterlime  of  commerce. 
Immense  quantities  of  both  kinds  are  packed,  either  in 
sacks  or  barrels,  and  transported  by  the  carload  to  all  parts 
of  the  country.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  hydraulic  cement, 
so  named  because  it  will  form  a  cement  which  sets  under 
water,  is  made  in  large  quantities  from  the  waterlime- 
stone,  the  drab  is  often  called  hydraulic  limestone. 

The  two  kinds  usually  occur  conjointly,  being  in  alter- 
nate layers.  At  Behan's  Quarry,  near  Manlius  village, 
there  are  two  alternate  layers  of  each,  neither  being  more 
than  four  feet  thick.  The  entire  exposure  at  this  place  is 
about  sixteen  feet  in  thickness.  At  Alvord's  Quarry,  but 
a  short  distance  from  the  preceding,  we  have  the  same 
state  of  affairs.  In  the  perpendicular  face  of  rock  at  the 

19 


Dorwin  Quarry  there  are  about  eight  feet  of  waterlime- 
stone  overlying  twenty-five  feet  of  blue.  At  Britton's 
Quarry,  on  the  eastern  ridge  of  Onondaga  Valley,  we  have 
two  layers  each  of  blue  and  of  drab.  At  Hibbard's  and 
Russel's  Quarries,  both  near  the  Britton  Quarry,  we  have 
practically  the  same  state  of  affairs  as  at  that  place. 

The  blue  limestone  is  full  of  fossils,  while  the  drab  is 
characteristic  in  being  wholly  destitute  of  them.  But 
there  is  a  compensating  quality  here  for  the  geologist,  for 
many  of  the  seams  of  this  rock  are  lined  with  the  rhom- 
bohedral  crystals  of  fluor-spar  and  of  calcite.  At  Alvord's 
Quarry,  Manlius,  we  often  find  these  beautiful  crystals 
lining  the  cavities  of  small  geodes.  At  other  places  such 
geodes  are  rare,  the  crystals  being  generally  found  in  the 
seams  of  the  rock.  Occasionally  calcite  crystals  are  also 
found  in  the  blue  limestone.  Many  of  the  layers  also  con- 
tain a  peculiar  form  called  lignilite,  or  epsomite.  It  re- 
sembles the  suture  joints  in  the  skull,  except  that  the 
individual  sutures  are  generally,  though  not  always,  much 
longer. 

We  have  found  the  following  fossils  in  the  Lower 
Helderberg  of  our  county. 

Tentaculites  irrcgularis.  A  pteropod  found  sparingly 
in  the  lower  layers. 

Holopea  antiqua.  A  small  univalve  usually  about  a 
half  inch  in  height.  Good  specimens  are  rare,  although 
they  are  common  in  the  form  of  casts.  The  best  speci- 
mens are  found  near  Skaneateles. 

Replaced  Columnaria  is  also  abundant.  It  is  usually 
found  in  large  masses,  and  is  common  in  all  the  layers. 

BRACHIOPODS. 

Spirifer  vanuxemi.  A  small  but  exceedingly  abundant 
fossil. 

Strophodonta   varistriata.      Is  somewhat   larger   than 


20 


the  preceding,  with  a  smoother  surface.  Both  are  ex- 
tremely abundant,  and  are  found  at  all  the  localities  men- 
tioned. 

Merista  sulcata.  Not  as  common  as  the  preceding. 
Found  at  Britton's  Quarry. 

LAMELLIBRANCHS. 

Pterinea  rugosa.  This  specimen  is  quite  abundant,  be- 
ing found  at  nearly  all  the  quarries  mentioned. 

Avicula  communis  and  Avicnla  umbonata  are  two 
lamellibranchs  that  are  rarely  met  with  in  our  county. 
They  are  found  in  the  lower  layers. 

CRUSTACEANS. 

Eurypterus  remipes  represents  a  new  family  that  makes 
its  appearance  with  this  period.  It  is  quite  abundant  in 
some  of  the  counties  east  of  us,  but  we  have  the  only 
known  specimen  that  has  as  yet  been  found  in  our  county. 
As  this  fossil  is  found  in  similar  layers  of  the  Waterlime 
Group  to  the  east  and  to  the  west  of  us,  it  is  reasonable  to 
suppose  that  it  exists  somewhere  in  the  rocks  of  this  for- 
mation in  our  county.  The  specimen  mentioned  was 
picked  up  amid  some  loose  material  and  drift  in  Onondaga 
Valley,  and  it  is  possible  that  it  may  have  drifted  in  from 
one  of  the  adjoining  counties. 

Lederditia  alt  a  is  another  crustacean  found  in  this 
period.  It  is  an  ostracoid,  and  very  abundant.  Speci- 
mens a  fourth  of  an  inch  in  length  are  not  rare.  Dana 
says  of  it,  * '  The  Lederditia  alta  of  this  period  is  unusually 
large  for  its  family,  modern  ostracoids  seldom  exceeding 
a  twelfth  of  an  inch  in  length. " 

This  period  may  be  advantageously  studied  at  the  fol- 
lowing places : 

(i)  Dorwin  Springs,  (2)  Split  Rock,  (3)  Britton's,  (4) 
Hibbard's,  (5)  Russell's  Quarries,  the  three  latter  being  on 

21 


the  upper  road  to  Jamesville,  near  the  cross-road  going  to 
Onondaga  Valley,  (6)  Carrigan's  Quarry,  Skaneateles,  (7) 
Behan's  Quarry,  Manlius,  (8)  Alvord's  Quarry,  Manlius, 
(9)  at  the  falls  three-fourths  of  a  mile  south  of  Manlius, 
on  the  East  Branch,  and  one  mile  southwest  of  Manlius, 
on  the  West  Branch  of  Limestone  Creek. 

The  economic  importance  of  this  group  is  considera- 
ble, neither  is  it  limited  to  the  immediate  vicinity.  Vast 
quantities  of  quicklime  and  of  waterlime  are  manufactured 
and  sent  to  all  parts  of  the  country.  The  blue  limestone 
makes  a  good  building  stone,  and  is  used  extensively  for 
that  purpose.  Large  quantities  of  crushed  stone  are  also 
exported.  This  article  can  be  used  for  many  purposes, 
the  most  important  of  which  is  in  making  solid  founda- 
tions for  the  modern  asphalt  and  macadamized  pavements. 
It  is  also  used  extensively  in  the  manufacture  of  the 
cement  sidewalks  which  have  recently  become  so  popular. 
In  the  towns  of  Dewitt  and  Manlius,  where  the  lower 
measures  of  the  group  occur,  it  is  often  used  for  farm 
fences.  It  is  well  adapted  to  this  purpose,  as  the  compar- 
atively thin  layers  are  easily  broken  into  oblong  blocks, 
which  a  little  skill  will  readily  convert  into  good  fences. 

THE  DEVONIAN  AGE. 

With  the  next  period  a  new  era,  the  Devonian  begins. 
Like  the  Silurian,  it  has  sometimes  been  divided  into  two 
parts,  the  Lower  and  Upper  Devonian  Ages.  These  have 
usually  been  subdivided  as  follows : 


i.   Hamilton  Period. 
UPPER    DEVONIAN.     4  2.   Chemung  Period. 

(  3.   Catskill  Period. 
The  system  commences  with  a  sandstone  formation, 
after  which  it  is  mostly  composed  of  limestone  and  shale, 

22 


with  some  sandstone.  During  this  era,  land  plants  be- 
came abundant,  fishes  swarmed  in  the  seas,  and  corals, 
crinoids,  brachiopods,  lamellibranchs  and  gasteropods  con- 
tinued in  undiminished  numbers.  Toward  the  latter  part 
of  the  era,  plants  became  so  abundant  as  to  foreshadow 
the  Carboniferous  Age,  while  the  large  deposits  of  carbon- 
aceous shale  have  more  than  once  led  to  a  fruitless  search 

for  coal. 

THE  ORISKANY  PERIOD. 

While  studying  the  rocks  of  the  Lower  Helderberg 
Period,  we  sometimes  found  that  they  were  overlaid  by  a 
thin  deposit  of  coarse  sandstone,  which  we  immediately 
recognized  as  being  different  from  anything  which  we 
have  as  yet  met.  If  the  character  of  this  sandstone  would 
leave  us  in  doubt  as  to  its  identity,  a  glance  at  the  pro- 
fusion of  its  fossils  ought  immediately  to  tell  us  that  it  is 
the  first  member  of  the  Devonian  Age,  the  Oriskany  Sand- 
stone. 

This  period  has  sometimes  been  referred  to  the  Silur- 
ian Age ;  in  fact,  many  geologists  have  at  one  time  placed 
it  in  the  Silurian,  and  at  another  time  in  the  Devonian 
Age.  This  is  due  to  the  fact  that  in  some  localities  its  fos- 
sils are  related  to  those  of  the  preceding  group,  and  at 
other  localities  to  those  of  the  following.  Since  this  is 
the  case,  it  will  be  safe  to  say  that  this  sandstone  forms 
the  passage  beds  between  the  two  ages.  At  the  present 
time,  however,  the  tendency  is  to  place  it  in  the  Devonian 
'Age. 

The'  rock  is  a  very  rough,  dark,  and  oftentimes  rust- 
colored  sandstone.  Where  it  has  been  protected  from  the 
weather,  however,  it  sometimes  occurs  as  a  clear  white 
sandstone.  Its  thickness  varies  from  a  few  inches  to  some 
thirty  feet. 

The  first  place  where  we  find  this  period  in  our  county 
is  at  the  Britton  Quarries,  three  miles  south  of  Syracuse, 

23 


on  the  upper  road  to  Jamesville.  The  quarry,  lying" 
among  the  hills  to  the  east  of  Onondaga  Valley,  is  but  a 
short  distance  from  the  lime-kiln,  which  is  usually  reck- 
oned as  being  midway  between  Jamesville  and  Syracuse. 
The  sandstone  occurs  in  a  thin  layer,  not  more  than  thirty 
inches  in  thickness.  As  this  quarry  is  quite  extensive, 
covering  more  than  half  a  square  mile,  in  some  parts  the 
sandstone  conies  to  the  surface,  while  in  others  this  is 
overlaid  by  the  Corniferous  Limestone.  As  this  sand- 
stone has  no  economic  value,  it  is  often  gathered  up  as 
waste  by  the  quarrymen  and  thrown  into  large  heaps. 
Many  of  these  heaps  are  excellent  collecting  grounds. 
Where  the  sandstone  comes  to  the  surface  it  is  much  dis- 
colored, and  is  often  so  disintegrated  that  it  crumbles  into 
sand. 

Another  place  where  this  sandstone  occurs  is  near  Dor- 
win  Springs.  This  is  five  miles  southwest  of  Syracuse, 
and  is  midway  between  that  place  and  the  village  of  South 
Onondaga.  It  is  in  the  ridge  of  hills  west  of  Onondaga 
Valley,  and  almost  directly  opposite  the  Britton  Quarries. 
The  exposure  of  Oriskany  occurs  about  half  way  up  the 
hill ;  it  overlies  the  Lower  Helderberg,  which  is  quarried 
at  the  base  of  the  hill,  and  is  in  turn  itself  overlaid  by  the 
rocks  of  the  Corniferous  Period.  Its  thickness  on  the  slope 
of  this  hill  is  about  eight  feet,  the  perpendicular  distance  or 
real  thickness  being  about  six  feet.  The  rock  is  very  simi- 
lar to  that  at  Britton's  Quarry,  a  rough  sandstone  largely 
colored  by  iron.  About  one  foot  from  the  top,  and  near 
the  transition  to  the  Corniferous,  the  rock  is  not  so  highly 
colored,  having  more  the  color  and  nature  of  limestone, 
although  mainly  arenaceous.  The  rock  is  full  of  fossils, 
especially  the  lower  layers,  though  it  is  often  difficult  to 
obtain  them  from  the  rock  in  situ.  Many  large  bowlders, 
some  of  them  four  or  five  feet  in  diameter,  have  become 
detached  from  the  mass  of  the  rock,  and  by  demolishing 


24 


these  and  other  smaller  bowlders,  which  one  will  find  in 
the  surrounding  stone  fences,  a  representative  collection 
of  this  period's  fossils  can  readily  be  obtained. 

In  the  bluff  east  of  the  Glenside  Mills,  Skaneateles, 
this  rock  again  occurs.  At  this  place  it  is  about  twenty 
feet  in  thickness,  but  since  the  exposure  is  in  a  bluff  which 
is  not  easily  accessible,  it  does  not  form  as  favorable  a 
place  for  collecting  specimens  as  some  of  the  other  places 
mentioned.  Another  exposure  will  be  found  in  the  south- 
rn  part  of  the  town  of  Elbridge,  where  the  sandstone  is 
about  thirty  feet  in  thickness.  This  represents  the  maxi- 
mum thickness  exposed  anywhere  in  our  county.  The 
other  extreme  will  be  found  in  Manlius,  where  the  rock  is 
but  a  few  inches  in  thickness,  or  at  Split  Rock,  where  it 
has  almost  entirely  disappeared. 

The  following  fossils  are  found  in  this  period : 

BRACHIOPODS. 

Spirifer  arenosus,  a  large  and  course  brachiopod  is  the 
most  abundant.  The  spirifer  itself  is  not  very  common, 
but  the  cast  is  extremely  so.  Almost  any  large  piece  of 
the  sandstone,  chosen  at  random,  when  broken  open  will 
reveal  parts  of  it.  Although  the  spirifer  and  its  cast  are 
perceptibly  different;  they  would  not  be  mistaken  for  dif- 
ferent genera  or  species. 

The  Orthis  liippiraonyx  is  another  bivalve  of  common 
occurrence,  although  not  as  abundant  as  the  preceding. 
The  lower  valve  bears  a  striking  resemblance  to  a  colt's 
Foot,  and  is  commonly  called  by  that  name. 

The  OrtJiis  inusculosa,  another  species  of  the  same 
genus,  is  usually  smaller  than  the  preceding,  and  not  as 
abundant. 

The  Merista  lata  is  another  brachiopod  which  is  plen- 
tiful but  not  abundant.  The  casts  of  this  specimen  are 
quite  unlike  either  of  the  valves,  which  are  also  slightly 
different. 

25 


The  Rensselaria  ovoides  is  a  much  larger  and  more 
handsome  brachiopod  than  any  of  the  others.  It  is  only 
occasionally  found. 

Among  Gasteropods  we  have  found  a  large  Platyceras 
nodosum,  and  a  smaller  univalve,  the  Platyostoma  ven- 
tricosa. 

ECONOMIC  VALUE.  In  some  places  the  sand  has  been 
used  for  manufacturing  glass.  It  is  also  reported  that 
when  the  Erie  Canal  was  constructed  that  blocks  of  the 
Oriskany  Sandstone  were  used  in  the  locks  at  Jordan,  and 
it  is  said  to  have  worn  very  well  for  a  rock  of  that  charac- 
ter. Inasmuch  as  iron  exists  quite  plentifully  in  the  rock, 
quantities  of  it  have  frequently  been  obtained  for  the  pur- 
pose of  smelting.  Nevertheless  the  difficulties  of  extrac- 
tion, together  with  the  attendant  expense,  have  heretofore 
proved  insurmountable  obstacles  to  a  successful  enterprise. 

CORNIFEROUS  PERIOD. 

In  nearly  all  the  places  where  we  found  the  Oriskany 
Sandstone  it  was  overlaid  by  a  very  tough  limestone. 
This  protected  it,  not  only  from  such  destructive  agen- 
cies as  air,  frost  and  moisture,  but  also  from  the  attacks 
of  enthusiastic  geologists,  who  might  otherwise  have  soon 
appropriated  our  small  allowance  of  that  interesting 
period. 

The  limestone  is  the  last  of  the  great  limestone  forma- 
tions, the  Corniferous.  It  has  sometimes  been  called  the 
Upper  Helderberg  Group  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Lower. 
It  is  found  very  abundantly  in  our  county,  and  is  chiefly 
a  limestone  formation.  The  period  has  been  divided  into 
three  groups:  the  Schoharie  Grit,  Caudi-Gauli  Grit  and 
the  Corniferous  Limestone.  Only  the  last  of  these  is 
found  in  our  county.  This  has  usually  been  subdivided 
into  three  divisions,  the  Onondaga,  the  Corniferous,  and 
the  Seneca  Limestones.  Although  these  divisions  are  all 

26 


limestones,  they  vary  slightly  in  structure  and  composi- 
tion. While  all  the  strata  are  fossiliferous,  it  is  often  dif- 
ficult to  obtain  good  specimens  on  account  of  the  extreme 
toughness  of  several  of  the  layers.  Both  plants  and  ani- 
mals are  represented  in  these  fossil  remains.  Fishes  first 
make  their  appearance  in  this  period.  Sponges,  corals, 
crinoids,  brachiopods,  gasteropods,  lamellibranchs,  ceph- 
alopods  and  trilobites  are  common,  while  plants  are 
represented  by  ferns  and  lycopods.  Many  of  the  courses 
of  rock  furnish  excellent  building  stone,  and  some  are 
burned  for  the  manufacture  of  lime. 

The  Onondaga   Limestone.— The   first  group  of   this 
period  which  we  will  discuss  is  the  far-famed  Onondaga 
Limestone.     In  color  it  is  gray ;  in  structure,  tough  and 
crystalline ;  in  durability  it  approaches  granite,  which  it  is 
often  said  to  resemble.      If   it  has    once   been   carefully 
noted  it  will  henceforth  be  easily  recognized.     It  is  capa- 
ble of  taking  a  very  excellent  polish,  which,  with  its  other 
qualities,    makes    it   a    valuable    substitute    for    granite 
and  marble  in  monuments,  tombstones,  ornamental  trim- 
mings, etc.     In  these  forms  it  is  often  sole!  by  local  deal- 
ers for  granite.     As  a  building  stone  it  is  unsurpassed, 
and  not  only  has  it  the  local  reputation  of  being  one  of 
the  finest  building  stones  in  the  country,  but  is  known  as 
such  all  over  the  United  States.     For  several  years  past, 
however,  competition  has  sprung  up,  its  rivals  being  two 
handsome  sandstones.     Owing  to  an  unlimited  amount  of 
advertising  these  have  gained  a  considerable  amount  of 
public  attention  and  praise.     In  our  own  city,  several  large 
buildings  have  been  constructed  from  these  materials,  and 
we  heartily  join  in  the  popular  voice  which  has  called 
them  "handsome."     Whether  they  will  prove  superior  to 
the  Onondaga  Limestone,  as  their  promoters  have  often 
maintained,   or  whether   they  will   eventually  occupy  an 
inferior  position  to  the  limestone,  which  on  account  of  its 

27 


durability,  its  resistance  of  pressure,  of  atmospheric  agen- 
cies, etc. ,  etc. ,  has  gained  a  national  reputation  extending 
through  half  a  century,  is  at  present  only  a  matter  of  con- 
jecture. 

A  few  of  the  structures  built  of  this  limestone  are : 
the  new  Cathedrals  of  St.  Paul  and  St.  Mary,  the  new 
Government  Building  and  the  new  City  Hall.  Of  those 
which  have  stood  the  storms  of  a  quarter  of  a  century  we 
mention  the  Court  House,  the  Onondaga  County  Savings 
Bank,  and  the  Hall  of  Languages  of  Syracuse  University. 
The  continual  and  growing  demand  for  the  Onondaga 
Limestone,  and  the  many  large  public  buildings  that  are 
being  constructed  of  it,  are  ample  evidences  of  its  contin- 
ued popularity. 

As  many  of  the  layers  are  very  fossiliferous,  if  these 
be  taken,  ground  smooth  and  polished,  not  only  will  the 
fossils  first  seen  be  brought  out  more  clearly,  but  others, 
which  were  at  first  invisible,  will  be  distinctly  brought  to 
view.  When  burned  this  rock  furnishes  an  extremely 
pure  white  lime.  Formerly  it  was  burned  in  large  quan- 
tities for  this  purpose,  and  always  brought  a  price  largely 
in  advance  of  the  amount  paid  for  the  ordinary  article. 
For  a  number  of  years  past,  however,  this  industry  has 
not  been  carried  on  very  extensively.  This  is  probably 
due  to  the  fact  that  this  particular  rock  brings  more  money 
with  less  trouble  as  a  building  stone  than  as  lime. 

Although  this  group  is  abundant  in  fossils,  none  of 
them  are  limited  to  it  alone,  but  are  distributed  through- 
out the  entire  period.  We  will,  therefore,  leave  the  dis- 
cussion of  its  fossils  until  we  speak  of  those  of  the  entire 
period. 

This  group  can  be  easily  studied  at  Split  Rock  Quarry, 
five  miles  southwest  of  Syracuse ;  at  the  Indian  Reserva- 
tion, six  miles  south  of  the  city;  at  the  Glenside  Mills, 
Skaneateles;  at  the  quarries  north  of  Skaneateles  Falls; 

28 


at  Green   Lake,  Jamesville ;  in  the  southern  part  of  Man- 
lius,  and  in  the  northern  part  of  Pompey. 

The  Corniferous  Group  differs  from  the  Onondaga 
Limestone,  in  that  it  has  scattered  throughout  its  mass, 
nodules  of  flint,  or  hornstone.  Frequently  these  nodules 
are  arranged  in  layers.  So  plentiful  are  these  particles  of 
flint,  that  not  only  has  this  group  but  the  entire  period 
been  named  from  this  circumstance.  These  nodules  of 
hornstone  are  the  remains  of  multitudes  of  small  organ- 
isms ;  as,  diatoms  and  desmids.  Should  you  carefully  ex- 
amine a  small  piece  of  hornstone  under  the  microscope 
you  would  find  it  to  be  largely  composed  of  the  siliceous 
remains  of  plants  and  animals.  Diatomaceous  shells  and 
spicules  of  sponges  are  the  most  common.  As  this  horn- 
stone  is  mainly  siliceous  and  much  harder  than  the  sur- 
rounding rock,  it  often  happens  that  where  it  has  been  ex- 
posed to  the  weather,  large  masses  will  be  found  protruding 
from  the  parent  rock.  Since  it  is  also  slightly  darker  than 
the  rest  of  the  rock,  such  protrusions  often  appear  in  pecul- 
iar and  grotesque  shapes,  which  are  distinctly  visible.  On 
account  of  the  occurrence  of  these  masses  in  the  Cornifer- 
ous and  Seneca  Groups,  and  because  the  limestone  itself 
has  begun  to  deteriorate,  for  it  no  longer  has  the  crystal- 
line character  of  the  Onondaga  Limestone,  it  contains  for- 
eign matter,  has  a  tendency  to  become  shaly,  aud  shows 
in  many  ways  its  inferiority,  therefore  the  two  latter 
divisions  have  no  very  great  economic  value.  Although 
it  is  almost  valueless  for  practical  purposes,  it  is,  never- 
theless, interesting  to  us  on  account  of  the  many  evidences 
of  former  life  which  it  contains. 

The  Seneca  Group  closely  resembles  the  preceding, 
both  in  structure  and  composition,  and  is  not  separated 
from  it  by  any  distinct  line  of  division.  It  was  made  a 
new  group  because  it  contained  a  particular  fossil,  the 
Stropherncna  lincata,  in  great  abundance.  For  a  long 

29 


time  none  of  these  specimens  were  found  in  the  preceding 
groups,  and  this  was  supposed  to  be  a  sufficient  reason  for 
making  the  upper  layers  a  new  division.  A  more  diligent 
search,  however,  shows  that  these  fossils  also  occur,  al- 
though sparingly,  in  the  other  groups;  since  this  is  so, 
and  as  the  line  of  division  between  the  groups  is  not  dis- 
tinct, they  have  very  properly  been  designated  as  one 
group.  In  some  places  these  upper  layers  contain  courses 
of  very  good  limestone.  This  is  true  of  the  western  part 
of  our  county.  For  instance,  in  Marcellus  this  limestone 
is  often  quarried  and  used  for  building  purposes;  occa- 
sionally it  is  burnt  for  lime,  although  the  product  obtained 
is  not  very  pure. 

The  Corniferous  Limestone  and  the  Seneca,  also,  if  we 
persist  in  retaining  this  subdivision,  may  be  studied  at  the 
following  places:  just  east  of  Manlius  Village,  south  of 
Jamesville,  and  at  the  quarries  north  of  Onondaga  Hill, 
north  of  Skaneateles  Falls,  and  south  of  Marcellus. 

Unless  otherwise  indicated,  the  following  fossils  are 
found  throughout  this  entire  period. 

PORIFERA. 

Petra  Spongia,  a  small  globular  sponge  about  the  size 
of  an  ordinary  marble.  Abundant  in  the  shaly  layer  over- 
lying the  Onondaga. 

COELENTERATA. 

In  several  places  this  formation  consists  almost  entirely 
of  ancient  coral  reefs.  There  are  several  species  of  corals 
found  in  it.  Stag-horn  and  cup  corals  are  the  most 
abundant.  Heliophyllum  Haiti  is  a  common  variety. 
Favosites,  or  honey-comb  coral,  is  also  quite  common. 
The  most  abundant  species  are  the  Favosites  Goldfussi  and 
F.  Gothlandicus. 


3° 


ECHINODERriATA. 

The  crinoidea,  at  least  one  family  of  them,  are  said  to 
be  especially  partial  to  New  York  State.  Not  only  is  this 
true  in  regard  to  the  vast  number  of  crinoids  found,  but 
also  in  regard  to  the  size  which  many  of  them  have  at- 
tained. In  our  county  crinoid  stems  are  the  only  parts 
found.  These,  however,  grew  to  be  quite  large,  speci- 
mens half  an  inch  in  diameter  being  common,  while  those 
an  inch  in  diameter  are  not  rare.  Their  length  also  is 
remarkable.  It  is  not  a  strange  thing  to  see  them  extend- 
ing across  the  entire  breadth  of  some  of  our  stone  side- 
walks, often  several  feet  in  length.  Since  these  crinoids 
are  not  found  entire,  but  the  stems  only,  there  has  been 
some  doubt  as  exactly  where  to  classify  them.  In  the 
early  State  reports  they  are  called  Encinitus  Lams.  Some 
of  these  stems  are  very  beautiful,  having  a  radiating  struct- 
ure extending  from  a  central  star,  circle  or  polygon. 
Usually  these  stems  are  the  same  color  as  the  limestone, 
but  occasionally  specimens  are  found  having  a  very  deli- 
cate pink  color ;  the  latter  are,  of  course,  the  more  highly 
prized.  This  variety  is  often  found  at  Split  Rock. 

GASTEROPODA. 

This  family  is  well  represented  in  the  Corniferous 
Period,  and  is,  no  doubt,  more  abundant  in  that  formation 
in  our  county  than  anywhere  else.  The  particular  layer 
that  abounds  in  these  specimens  is  an  impure  shaly  mass 
overlying  the  Onondaga  Limestone.  It  is  well  exposed 
at  the  Indian  Reservation.  In  referring  to  this  layer  at 
the  Reservation,  State  Geologist  Hall  says:  "This  shale 
has  probably  afforded  twenty  times  as  many  specimens  (of 
Platyostoma  turbinatd]  as  all  the  other  localities  in  the 
State."  Again,  in  commenting  upon  the  great  variety  in 
genera  and  species  found  at  this  place,  he  says :  "It  would 


appear  that  the  physical  conditions  favoring  the  abundant 
production  of  individuals,  has,  at  the  same  time,  favored 
a  degree  of  variation  unknown  under  conditions  existing 
elsewhere."  So  great  is  this  variation  in  some  of  them 
that,  in  not  a  few  instances,  it  is  at  first  difficult  to  recog- 
nize the  characteristics  of  the  gasteropods. 

We  have  found  the  following  species  especially  abund- 
ant: Platyceras  dumosum,  P.  rarispimim,  P.  perplexum, 
P.  rictum,  P.  attenuatum,  P.  conicum.  Also  Platyostoma 
lineata,  P.  pleiirotoma,  P.  turbinata,  variety  P.  cocJileata. 
Two  other  species  abundant  at  this  place,  but  also  found 
throughout  the  entire  period,  are:  Pleurotomaria  lucina 
and  Strophostylus  variant. 

Gyroceras  undulatnm.  A  large  cephalopod  often  meas- 
uring six  inches  in  diameter,  is  quite  abundant  in  many  of 
the  layers.  It  is  rolled  in  one  plane,  the  volutions  may  be 
in  contact  or  open,  and  a  transverse  section  is  elliptical. 

BRACHIOPODA. 

The  A  try  pa  reticularis  is  a  handsome  brachiopod  found 
sparingly  in  this  period,  but  more  abundant  in  some  of 
the  others,  especially  in  the  Hamilton.  It  is  well  to  note 
that  the  specimens  from  the  Corniferous  are  larger  and 
better  preserved  than  those  from  some  of  the  other 
periods.  It  is  abundant  in  the  shaly  layer  at  the  Indian 
Reservation. 

Strophomena  rhomboidalis  is  abundant  in  most  of  the 
layers.  Oftentimes  the  fossil  form  is  colored  red,  making 
it  very  distinct  and  prominent. 

Strophomena  rugosa  is  usually  regarded  as  a  variety  of 
the  preceding.  It  differs  from  it  in  that  it  has  but  eight 
ridges,  while  the  preceding  usually  has  eighteen. 

Or  this  eboracensis  is  a  small  but  very  abundant  brach- 
iopod. Both  valves  are  usually  found  together. 

3* 


Spirifer  raricosta.  A  medium  sized  spirifer  common 
in  the  Onondaga  Limestone.  It  has  been  described  under 
the  names  Spirifer  undulatum,  S.  raricosta,  Delthyris  un- 
dulatum. 

CRUSTACEA. 

PJiacops  bufo.     A  small  trilobite  occasionally  found. 

Odontocepkalus  sclenurus.  Another  which  is  charac- 
teristic of  this  period,  and  is  quite  abundant.  As  its  name 
implies,  it  is  the  spiked-head,  moon-shaped  tail,  trilobite. 
Although  parts  of  this  specimen  are  very  common,  es- 
pecially the  pigidium,  whole  specimens  are  rare.  Owing 
to  this  fact,  it  was  long  thought  that  the  head  and  tail 
portions  were  parts  of  two  different  trilobites,  and  they 
were  accordingly  given  different  names.  For  some  time  the 
head  was  known  as  the  Calyrnene  odontocephalus,  and  the 
tail  as  the  Asaphus  selenurus,  but  later  an  entire  specimen 
was  found,  and  it  was  accordingly  known  as  the  Odonto- 
cephalus selcnurus. 

The  Dalmanites  (Coronura)  Myrmecophorus  is  a  large 
and  exceedingly  beautiful  trilobite  existing  somewhere  in 
this  period.  The  exact  layer  is  as  yet  unknown.  No 
whole  specimen  has  yet  been  found,  but  the  few  frag- 
ments all  show  that  it  is  large  and  handsome.  An  entire 
specimen  of  the  same  proportions  as  the  largest  fragment 
would  indicate  a  trilobite  over  a  foot  in  length. 

VERTEBRATA. 

Fish  spines  are  the  only  parts  which  have  as  yet  been 
found  in  our  county.  In  some  of  the  counties  east  of  us, 
however,  the  fossil  form  of  the  entire  fish  has  been  found. 

HAMILTON  PERIOD. 

The  next  period  which  we  find  in  our  trip  toward  the 
south  is  the  Hamilton.  This  period  consists  of  sand- 

33 


stones,  shales  and  some  layers  of  limestone.  The  seas 
which  existed  at  the  time  these  layers  were  formed,  must 
have  abounded  with  life,  for  the  remains  of  corals,  brachi- 
opods  and  lamellibranchs  are  found  in  the  greatest  pro- 
fusion. Occasionally  the  remains  of  the  earliest  fishes  are 
found,  while  terrestial  plants  are  now  more  numerous  than 
heretofore.  Insects,  too,  make  their  appearance  in  this 
period. 

The  four  groups  into  which  this  period  has  been 
divided,  the-  Marcellus  Shale,  the  Hamilton  Beds,  the 
Tully  Limestone  and  the  Genesee  Slate,  are  all  well 
represented  in  our  county.  Two  of  them,  the  Marcellus 
Shale  and  the  Tully  Limestone,  here  reach  their  culmina- 
tion. 

The  flarcellus  Shale. — Directly  succeeding  the  upper 
layers  of  the  Corniferous  Limestone,  we  find  an  extremely 
soft,  black,  fine-grained  shale  with  an  occasional  layer  of 
limestone.  This  is  the  oldest  member  of  the  Hamilton 
Period,  the  Marcellus  Shale.  It  can  readily  be  distin- 
guished from  any  of  the  preceding  groups  by  its  black 
color,  by  the  extreme  thinness  of  the  shale,  and  by  the 
fact  that  when  rubbed  it  gives  off  a  bituminous  odor.  As 
stated,  it  is  for  the  most  part  a  thin,  slaty  and  extremely 
brittle  mass,  which  quickly  disintegrates  when  exposed  to 
the  weather.  Nevertheless,  a  few  feet  above  the  base  of 
the  shale  a  thin  layer  of  limestone,  usually  not  more  than 
two  or  three  feet  in  thickness,  occurs.  This  limestone  is 
very  impure,  and  readily  breaks  up  into  small  irregular 
fragments  when  hit  with  the  hammer.  It  is  often  called 
by  the  popular  name,  "shell  rock",  not  because  it  con- 
tains an  abundance  of  shells,  but  because  to  the  popular 
mind  the  small  irregular  masses  into  which  it  readily 
breaks  somewhat  resemble  shelled  corn.  Local  geolo- 
gists, however,  term  this  rock  by  a  more  appropriate 
name,  the  Goniatite  Limestone.  The  shales  in  the  upper 


34 


part  of  this  group  are  not  as  highly  colored  as  they  are  in 
the  lower  part,  and  they  gradually  become  dark  bluish  in 
color,  closely  resembling  the  lower  layers  of  the  Hamil- 
ton Beds,  into  which  they  gradate.  Indeed,  it  is  often 
difficult  to  tell  the  exact  line  of  division  between  the 
groups. 

The  group  extends  in  an  unbroken  line  across  the  en- 
tire breadth  of  the  county.  It  is  exposed  in  many  of  the 
ravines  and  waterfalls  in  the  towns  of  Manlius,  Pompey, 
Lafayette,  Onondaga,  Marcellus  and  Skaneateles. 

The  rock  attains  its  maximum  thickness  in  the  town  of 
Marcellus,  where  it  is  about  200  feet  thick.  The  lower 
shales  are  exposed  to  the  east  of  the  village,  while  the 
upper  layers  may  be  found  to  the  west  and  south.  There 
is  a  fault  in  the  rock  here,  and  another  near  Manlius. 
Both  are  extremely  local,  however.  It  is  also  interesting 
to  note,  that  in  the  midst  of  the  shale  at  the  latter  place 
there  is  a  black  limestone,  varying  in  thickness  from  five 
to  ten  feet.  It  is  weathered  into  huge  rough  masses,  and 
has  sometimes  been  worked  and  used  for  rough  building 
purposes.  It  also  makes  an  excellent  cement.  This  mass 
of  limestone,  as  well  as  the  concretions  of  calcareous  mat- 
ter, known  as  septaria,  which  are  found  scattered  through- 
out the  shales  of  the  entire  group,  clearly  indicate  that 
the  mud  of  which  the  group  was  composed  contained 
throughout  its  mass  calcareous  material  in  varying  pro- 
portions. Where  the  amount  was  small,  it  congregated 
into  the  oval  masses  or  septaria ;  where  it  was  large,  as  at 
Manlius,  limestone  was  formed.  The  septaria  are  oval, 
flattened,  or  oblong  bodies,  usually  crossed  by  numerous 
seams,  which  are  filled  with  foreign  matter.  They  are 
calcareous,  and  were  probably  deposited  along  with  the 
material  of  the  shaly  matter,  the  calcareous  portion  sepa- 
rating from  the  rest  of  the  mass  and  uniting.  In  drying 
and  shrinking,  these  cracks,  or  septa,  were  formed.  These 

35 


were  afterwards  filled  with  crystalline  matter;  as,  calcite, 
sulphate  of  strontian,  etc.  Sometimes  these  septaria  seem 
to  have  aggregated  around  a  nodule  of  iron  pyrites,  a 
shell,  or  some  other  particle  of  matter,  for  on  being 
broken  open  such  bodies  are  found  within.  Occasionally 
they  contain  cavities  lined  with  crystals. 

Since  we  often  find  particles  of  coal,  and  a  small  per- 
centage of  combustible  material,  distributed  throughout 
the  mass  of  this  shale,  numerous  excavations  have  been 
made  in  it  with  the  hope  of  finding  sufficient  quantities 
of  these  materials  to  make  mining  profitable.  We  occa- 
sionally hear  of  fortune  seekers  who  are  wasting  their  time 
and  money"  in  the  vain  hope  of  finding  coal  in  this  shale. 
In  vain,  because  the  limited  amount  of  vegetation  at  this 
time  clearly  indicates  that  all  such  expenditures  are  in 
vain,  and  that  the  search  for  coal  must  necessarily  be 
fruitless. 

It  has,  however,  an  indirect  economic  value,  for  by  its 
disintegration  our  county  receives  a  valuable  addition  to 
its  soil.  This  is  all  the  more  valuable,  because  the  soil  as 
fast  as  it  is  formed  on  the  sides  and  summits  of  our  south- 
ern hills,  is  transported  by  the  action  of  our  streams  to  the 
valleys  and  levels  beneath,  and  thus  serves  for  our  com- 
mon benefit. 

FOSSILS. 

Should  we  say  that  the  Marcellus  Shale  is  almost  desti- 
tute of  fossils,  it  is  not  at  all  likely  that  we  would  be  con- 
tradicted by  anyone  who  has  hunted  for  specimens  in  the 
black  shales  which  compose  the  greater  part  of  this  group. 
Indeed,  this  part  of  the  group  is  almost  non-fossiliferous, 
for  it  is  only  after  the  shales  have  begun  to  change  to  the 
thicker  and  harder  layers  of  the  Hamilton  Beds  that  fos- 
sils appear.  But,  to  the  geologist,  there  is  a  part  of  the 
group  vastly  more  interesting  and  important  than  the 

36 


parts  already  named.  I  refer  to  the  thin  calcareous  mass 
near  the  base  of  the  shale,  which  is  commonly  known  as 
the  Goniatite  Limestone.  The  interest  in  this  layer  is  not 
due  to  any  great  abundance  in  the  variety  of  its  specimens, 
for  the  number  of  varieties  is  small,  even  though  the 
layer  is  well  described  by  saying  that  it  virtually  abounds 
in  its  peculiar  fossils.  But,  as  its  name  implies,  it  is  in 
this  layer  of  the  Marcellus  Shale  that  the  new  and  ex- 
tremely interesting  family  of  goniatites  first  makes  its  ap- 
pearance. In  fact  the  cephalopods  as  a  class  are  very 
well  represented  in  this  layer,  for,  besides  the  goniatites, 
we  find  several  species  of  orthoceras  and'-of  nautilus. 

Orthoceras  Marcellense.  This  fossil  may  be  recog- 
nized by  its  long  straight  shell,  which  gradually  expands 
from  the  apex  to  the  aperture.  A  transverse  section  is 
circular,  and  is  pierced  by  a  slightly  excentric  siphuncle, 
situated  on  the  ventral  side. 

It  is  common  in  nearly  all  the  places  where  the  Goni- 
atite Limestone  occurs.  Good  exposures  for  obtaining 
specimens  are  southwest  of  Manlius,  east  of  Jamesville, 
and  east  of  Marcellus. 

Orthoceras  aptum  differs  from  the  preceding  in  that  the 
septa  are  more  frequent,  the  sutures  are  curved  and 
oblique,  and  the  entire  appearance  of  the  shell  is  more 
tapering,  due  to  its  more  gradual  enlargement.  Although 
not  as  abundant  as  the  preceding,  it  is,  nevertheless,  often 
found  at  the  above  mentioned  places. 

Discites  Marcellensis  is  the  noted  Goniatites  Marcel- 
lensis  of  the  early  reports,  and  is  still  occasionally  called 
by  that  name.  For  a  long  time,  however,  it  has  been 
classified  as  a  nautilus,  but  on  account  of  a  closer  relation- 
ship to  the  goniatites  than  the  nautilus  usually  shows, 
some  paleontologists  have  placed  it  in  the  new  class, 
Discites.  We  consider  it  a  good  classification,  for  the 

37 


specimen  closely  resembles  the  early  goniatites,  and  is  fre- 
quently mistaken  for  one  of  them. 

Nautilus  liratus  and  N.  buccinum,  two  species  of  nau- 
tilus proper,  are  also  found  in  this  limestone. 

Goniatites  Vanuxemi,  the  goniatite  proper  found  in 
this  group,  is  quite  a  handsome  specimen.  It  often  at- 
tains a  large  size,  specimens  a  foot  in  diameter  are  not 
rare,  but  on  account  of  the  friable  nature  of  the  limestone 
it  is  not  always  easy  to  obtain  entire  specimens. 

Some  of  the  other  fossils  found  in  this  group  are  the 
gasteropods :  Pleurotomaria  regulata,  Euomphalus  piano- 
discus  and  Macrochilina  Hebe.  The  cephalopods :  Gom- 
pJioceras  Conradi,  G.  FiscJieri,  G.  oviforinc ;  and  a  ptero- 
pod,  Coleolus  acicula.  A  handsome  little  trilobite,  the 
Proetus  Haldemani,  is  also  found  associated  with  these 
fossils.  These  specimens  are  all  found  in  the  Goniatite 
Limestone. 

The  Hamilton  Group. — As  has  already  been  stated,  the 
shales  composing  the  upper  part  of  the  Marcellus  Group 
gradually  become  harder  in  texture  and  lighter  in  color, 
until  they  have  gradually  changed  into  the  dark  blue 
shales  everywhere  recognized  as  the  Hamilton  Beds,  thus 
leaving  little  or  no  line  of  demarkation  between  the 
groups.  In  some  places,  however,  there  seems  to  be  a 
more  abrupt  change,  which  is  noted  more  especially  on 
account  of  the  abundance  of  fossils  that  suddenly  appear 
than  by  any  distinct  change  in  the  rock.  In  other 
places  even  the  fossils  begin  in  shales  which  are  without 
doubt  Marcellus,  and  gradually  become  more  abundant, 
until  at  last  we  find  them  in  the  greatest  profusion  in 
rocks  that  are  clearly  Hamilton.  Nevertheless,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  that  at  any  one  point  the  one  group  begins 
and  the  other  ends. 

This  group,  which  is  quite  extensive,  includes  a  variety 
of  rocks  occurring  between  the  Marcellus  Shale  and  the 

38 


Tully  Limestone.  These  beds  vary  in  thickness  from  300 
to  700  feet.  The  kinds  that  are  most  persistent  are  shale, 
sandstone  and  slate,  usually  occurring  in  the  order  men- 
tioned, although  the  variety  of  ways  in  which  they  are 
combined  makes  it  a  difficult  matter  to  try  to  enumerate 
their  order  of  succession. 

Where  the  division  between  this  group  and  the  preced- 
ing is  most  marked,  we  find  that  the  lower  layers  are  a 
dark  and  somewhat  slaty  shale,  which  in  some  places  con- 
tains a  few  feet  of  dark  colored  limestone.  This  shale  is 
usually  quite  fossiliferous.  It  crops  out  just  northeast  of 
Skaneateles,  on  the  road  between  that  place  and  Marcellus, 
and  again  just  north  of  Pompey  Hill.  As  we  move  farther 
toward  the  south  we  find  that  this  shale  has  changed  to  a 
less  fissile  and  more  calcareous  shale,  by  which  it  is  over- 
laid. The  latter  has  sometimes  been  called  the  Skaneateles 
Shale,  although  the  name  is  not  generally  recognized. 
Even  when  used  it  has  sometimes  been  made  to  designate 
various  parts  of  the  group,  or  even  the  entire  group.  We 
next  come  to  a  much  harder  variety  of  shale,  also  fossilifer- 
ous, which  in  its  turn  is  overlaid  by  a  hard  layer  of  sand- 
stone. In  some  places  this  appears  as  a  shaly  sandstone. 
Its  color  is  usually  brown,  and  where  weathered  a  yellow- 
ish brown.  Lastly,  this  sandstone  is  overlaid  by  another 
hard  variety  of  shale,  which  completes  the  group.  These 
divisions  are  not  always  easily  distinguishable,  nor  are 
they  persistent  for  the  entire  county.  The  enumeration 
applies  more  particularly  to  the  eastern  part  in  the  towns 
of  Pompey  and  Fabius.  Toward  the  western  part  of  the 
county  there  is  more  calcareous  and  less  arenaceous  mat- 
ter. The  whole  situation  may  be  easily  summed  up  by 
saying,  that  while  the  shales  and  sandstones  predominate 
an  occasional  layer  of  limestone  is  found. 

For  delightful  field  study  there  is  no  group  in  our 
county  as  interesting  as  the  one  under  consideration. 

39 


Here  the  paleontologist  can  find  specimens  to  his  heart's 
content.  Every  stratum,  with  the  exception  of  one  fine 
grained  sandstone,  is  literally  filled  with  fossils.  Further- 
more, our  share  of  this  group  is  very  extensive.  It  cov- 
ers the  greater  part  of  the  towns  of  Pompey,  Lafayette  and 
Otisco,  and  no  small  part  of  Onondaga,  Marcellus,  Fabius, 
Tully,  Spafford  and  Skaneateles.  Another  favorable  cir- 
cumstance connected  with  this  group  is  that  in  the  towns 
just  mentioned  we  find  many  small  ravines  and  gorges. 
These  cut  through  the  hillsides,  which  are  largely  com- 
posed of  Hamilton  rock,  and  run  down  to  meet,  at  right 
angles,  the  longitudinal  north  and  south  valleys  into  which 
the  county  is  divided.  These  ravines  furnish  excellent 
places  for  studying  the  stratagraphical  and  paleontological 
characteristics  of  this  group.  Still  another  favorable  cir- 
cumstance is  that  the  rocks  are  so  arranged,  the  harder 
shales  and  sandstones  overlying  the  softer  shales,  and  all 
in  turn  being  overlaid  by  the  Tully  Limestone,  that  we 
have  just  the  conditions  necessary  for  the  formation  of 
waterfalls.  Consequently,  we  will  find  numerous  beauti- 
ful falls  throughout  this  part  of  our  trip. 

As  a  few  of  the  inviting  places,  we  mention  the  steep 
ravines  near  Amber  and  South  Onondaga,  together  with 
numerous  others  in  Tully,  Otisco  and  Spafford.  As  a  few 
of  the  best  falls  for  practical  study  we  mention  Pratt's 
Falls,  Pompey,  where  there  is  a  fall  of  water  claimed  to  be 
166  feet  in  height;  Buhr's  Falls,  Delphi,  64  feet;  Tinker's 
Falls,  60  feet ;  and  Gamble's  Falls.  The  rocky  shores  of 
Skaneateles  Lake,  and  the  numberless  gullies  and  ravines 
leading  down  to  them,  furnish  still  other  advantageous 
places  for  the  study  of  this  group.  In  the  ancient  coral 
reef  at  Staghorn  Point  we  have  an  excellent  place  for 
studying  corals.  There  are  fifteen  species  of  cyathaphyl- 
loid  corals  found  here,  together  with  numerous  species  of 
other  families.  This  one  case  will  serve  as  an  example  of 


40 


the  variety  and  profusion  of  the  fossils  found  in  this  group. 
The  study  and  classification  of  all  its  different  forms  would 
give  ample  employment  to  an  enterprising  student  for  no 
mall  portion  of  his  lifetime. 

If  we  overlook  the  fact  that  some  of  the  sandstones  of 
this  group  have  been  used  for  building  purposes,  and  that 
the  entire  group  furnishes  a  valuable  addition  to  our  soil, 
we  can  say  that  it  has  no  economic  importance. 

FOSSILS. 

Heliophyllum  Haiti  is  the  most  abundant  of  the  cy- 
athophylloid  corals,  although,  as  already  stated,  there  are 
many  different  species.  Most  of  these  are  extremely 
abundant,  and  in  some  places  constitute  a  large  part  of 
the  rock. 

Other  genera  represented  are :  Zaphrentis,  Cyathophyl- 
lum,  Favosites,  Taeniopora,  Stictopora  and  Reptana. 

Gasteropods.— If  it  is  possible  for  any  family  to  be 
more  abundant  than  the  corals,  we  must  reserve  that  place 
of  honor  for  the  gasteropods.  Many  of  the  layers  are  just 
filled  with  Pleurotomaria,  and  with  a  little  labor  almost 
any  number  of  them  may  be  secured. 

Pleiirotomaria  sulcomarginata  is  the  most  abundant. 
It  can  be  distinguished  from  all  the  others  by  the  two  dis- 
tinct revolving  carina  of  each  volution,  which  are  crossed 
by  numerous  well  marked  striae.  This  species  is  said  to 
be  more  abundant  at  Pratt's  Falls  and  Delphi  in  our 
county  than  at  any  other  locality  in  the  State. 

P.  rotalia.  Although  this  species  is  quite  similar  to 
the  preceding,  it  can  be  distinguished  from  it  by  its  shorter 
spire  and  more  convex  volutions,  which  are  less  distinctly 
marked  by  striae.  It  is  abundant  in  the  harder  layers  at 
Pratt's  Falls,  the  preceding  being  more  common  in  the 
softer. 


P.  itys.  This  species  can  be  readily  recognized  by  the 
fact  that  the  revolving  striae  are  crossed  and  cancellated  by 
distinct  concentric  striae.  Sometimes  found  at  Pratt's 
Falls,  more  common  in  the  shale  near  Skaneateles  Lake. 

Loxonema. — Two  species  of  this  genus  also  deserve 
similar  mention. 

L.  Hamiltoniae  is  the  most  abundant.  It  has  an  elon- 
gated shell  of  usually  not  more  than  a  dozen  volutions. 
Its  surface  it  marked  by  distinctly  arched,  longitudinal 
striae.  Found  at  Pratt's  Falls  and  Delphi. 

L.  Delphicola  is  not  as  abundant  as  the  preceding,  and 
differs  from  it  in  that  its  shell  is  broader,  expanding  more 
rapidly,  its  volutions  are  more  convex,  and  its  striae  less 
curved.  It  is  found  at  Delphi. 

Other  gasteropods  are  the  Cyclonema  Hamiltoniae, 
Macrocheilus  macrostomus  and  Bellerophon  patnlns,  B. 
thalia. 

Brachiopods  continue  to  be  found  in  large  numbers, 
the  genus  Spirifera  being  the  most  abundant.  A  few  of 
the  more  common  species  are :  Spirifera  granulifcra,  S. 
pennata,  S.  medialis,  S.  Tidlia.  Other  abundant  species 
are:  Atkyris  spiriferoides,  A.  cor  a,  Product  ella  truncata, 
P.  Tullia,  Chonetes  mucronata,  Atrypa  reticularis,  Tropi- 
doleptus  carinatus.  Several  species  of  Or  this,  Rhyn- 
chonella  and  Strophodonta  also  occur. 

Lamellibranchs. — If  space  and  time  permitted,  we 
would  speak  of  this  class  very  elaborately.  In  the  preced- 
ing groups  we  did  not  find  it  very  well  represented,  but  it 
now  becomes  quite  abundant,  lamellibranchs  being  fully 
as  common  as  brachiopods.  The  handsome  genus  Gram- 
mysia  is  represented  by  a  half  dozen  species,  Aviculas 
occur  in  even  greater  profusion,  the  beautiful  Nucula,  the 
interesting  Goniophora,  with  a  host  of  other  genera,  are 
all  found  in  this  group.  Some  of  the  more  abundant 
species  are :  Grammy  sia  arcuata,  G.  lirata,  G.  bisulcata, 


42 


G.  magna,  G.  alveata,  Actinopteria  Boydii,  Pterinea  flabel- 
lum,  Nucula  Randalli,  N.  lirata,  N.  bcllistriatus,  Gonio- 
plwra  Hamiltoncnsis,  G.  truncata,  Pterinopecten  conspectus, 
P.  regularis. 

There  are  also  several  species  of  pteropods  found,  they 
belong  to  the  genera  Coleolus,  Hyolithcs  and  Conularia. 

Cephalopods  continue  to  be  found,  although  not  as  pro- 
fusely as  at  the  beginning  of  this  period.  The  more  com- 
mon orthoccrata  are :  O.  sublatum,  O.  crotalum,  O.  exile; 
those  more  rarely  found  are :  O.  spissum,  O.  constrictum, 
O.  age  a. 

The  Nautilus  maximns  is  another  large  cephalopod 
that  is  often  found,  neither  are  the  Goniatites  discoideus, 
or  the  G.  uniangularis  very  rare. 

Crustacea. — Homalonotus  Dckayi  is  a  large  trilobite 
abundant  in  some  of  the  harder  layers.  On  account  of  the 
favorable  character  of  these  rocks  for  specimens  of  all 
kinds,  it  is  not  difficult  to  obtain  entire  specimens. 

PJiacops  rana,  which  we  found  sparingly  in  the  Upper 
Helderberg  Period,  is  now  found  very  abundantly. 

Dalmanites  callitelcs  is  another  trilobite  that  is  quite 
abundant  in  the  shale  of  this  group. 

Echinocaris  punctata  is  a  phyllopod  that  is  often  found 
in  the  blacker  shales. 

Fishes. — Occasionally  a  fish  spine  is  the  only  trace  of 
vertebrates  that  have  as  yet  been  found. 

Plants. Lepidodendrons,  which  in  the  Carboniferous 

became   so   plentiful,   ferns,   fucoides   and   other   marine 
plants  are  all  found  in  this  group. 

Tully  Limestone. — Immediately  overlying  the  Hamil- 
ton Beds  we  find  an  interesting  limestone  formation,  hav- 
ing numerous  exposures  in  our  county.  It  is  the  Tully 
Limestone,  and  is  interesting  because  it  is  the  highest 
mass  of  limestone  (geologically)  in  the  State.  It  has  not 
an  extensive  geological  distribution,  being  found  in  only 

43 


a  few  counties  besides  our  own.  For  this  reason  it  is  not 
always  mentioned  in  works  on  geology  as  one  of  the  divis- 
ions of  the  Hamilton  Period. 

Neither  is  its  thickness  as  great  as  that  of  some  of  the 
limestone  formations  already  mentioned.  Its  average 
thickness  is  not  more  than  fifteen  feet.  The  greatest 
thickness  in  our  county,  however,  is  considerably  more 
than  this,  it  being  thirty  feet  thick  in  the  ravine  a  mile 
northwest  of  Spafford  Corners. 

It  is  an  impure,  fine-grained  limestone,  with  a  dark 
blue  color  when  freshly  broken,  which  on  long  exposure 
to  the  weather  becomes  lighter  colored.  It  is  often  accre- 
tionary  in  structure,  breaking  into  small  irregular  frag- 
ments. The  layers  on  separating  sometimes  show  the 
fibrous  appearance  which  was  so  common  in  the  Lower 
Helderberg  Period. 

Among  the  fossils  found  in  this  group  are  two  hand- 
some species,  which  are  wholly  peculiar  to  it.  They  are 
the  Rhynchonella  venustula  and  the  Or  this  Tulliensis. 
Since  these  fossils  have  never  been  found  in  any  other 
group,  by  their  presence  alone  we  can  readily  distinguish 
the  Tully  Limestone  from  any  other. 

The  formation  occurs  sparingly  in  the  towns  of  Fabius, 
Tully,  Otisco,  Spafford  and  Skaneateles.  Some  of  the 
best  places  for  studying  it  are :  Tinker's  Falls  in  Fabius ; 
just  south  of  Delphi ;  Ousby's  farm,  south  of  Tully ;  one 
mile  south  of  Vesper ;  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the  town 
of  Otisco,  which  is  the  most  northern  point  where  it  oc- 
curs ;  one  mile  south  of  Borodino ;  and  in  any  of  the  ravines 
near  the  head  of  Skaneateles  Lake. 

At  Tinker's  Falls  the  limestone  is  some  fifteen  feet  in 
thickness.  It  forms  a  sort  of  shelf  over  which  the  water 
falls,  and  as  the  shale  (Hamilton)  which  occurs  below  the 
limestone  is  more  rapidly  disintegrated  by  the  atmospheric 
agencies  than  is  the  limestone,  we  have  a  natural  cave  ex- 


44 


tending  back  some  ten  or  twelve  feet  from  the  front  of  the 
ledge.  This  cave,  owing  to  the  peculiar  conditions  by 
which  it  is  being  formed,  is  continually  growing  larger. 
This  growth  will,  no  doubt,  at  some  future  time  be  the 
cause  of  its  destruction,  for  the  limestone  will  not  be  able 
to  sustain  itself  indefinitely  when  supported  only  by  the 
sides  and  rear.  When  the  strain  upon  the  limestone,  due 
to  the  force  of  gravitation,  has  become  so  great  as  to  over- 
come the  cohesion  of  its  particles,  the  result  will  be  dis- 
astrous to  the  cave.  The  appearance  of  the  ravine  would 
indicate  that  such  has  been  the  fate  of  a  pre-existing  cave 
at  some  time  in  the  past. 

The  more  common  fossils  outside  of  the  two  character- 
istic ones  already  mentioned  are:  Spirifer  Tullia,  S.  sub- 
umbona,  Product ella  Tullia,  Atrypa  spinosa,  Rhynchonella 
congregata  and  CJionctcs  logani  (variety)  aurora.  There 
are  also  several  species  of  trilobites  found,  among  them 
are :  Bronteus  Tullius,  PJiacops  rana,  Dalmanites  calliteles, 
Proetus  Rowi  and  P.  macroccphalus. 

The  limestone  is  quarried  in  several  places,  and  used 
for  a  building  stone.  It  is  also  burned  to  a  limited  extent 
for  lime.  It  makes  a  good  but  not  a  very  white  lime. 

The  Genesee  Slate, — Immediately  overlying  the  Tully 
Limestone  we  find  a  very  black,  fine  grained,  argillaceous 
shale,  which  is  known  as  the  Genesee  Slate. 

Its  structure  is  somewhat  slaty,  hard  and  brittle,  much 
more  so  than  the  Marcellus  Shale ;  nevertheless,  it  is  so 
uneven  and  fissile  that  we  often  hear  it  spoken  of  as  the 
Genesee  Shale. 

It  forms  the  tops  of  some  of  the  higher  hills  in  our 
southern  towns,  and  may  be  easily  recognized  by  its  black 
color  and  its  hard  and  brittle  structure.  We  cannot  easily 
mistake  it,  because  it  immediately  overlies  the  Tully 
Limestone,  which  may  always  be  recognized  by  its  char- 
acteristic fossils. 


45 


Its  thickness  is  usually  not  more  than  sixty  feet ;  in  the 
western  part  of  Fabius,  however,  near  where  the  excava- 
tions have  been  made  for  coal,  it  was  considerably  thicker, 
being  about  eighty  feet  thick. 

Septaria,  which  were  found  so  abundantly  in  the  Mar- 
cellus  Shale,  are  also  found  in  this  group,  although  very 
sparingly. 

Fossils  also  are  quite  rare.  The  only  trace  which  I 
have  as  yet  been  able  to  find  is  a  small  or  this.  Several 
others,  however,  are  known  to  occur  in  this  shale. 

This  group  may  be  studied  in  any  of  the  hills  in  the 
southern  part  of  Fabius  or  Tully,  in  Otisco  near  the  head 
of  the  lake,  and  in  Spafford. 

A  large  amount  of  money  has  been  spent  in  searching 
for  coal  in  this  mass.  Its  black  color,  together  with  an 
old  tradition,  saying  that  coal  exists  in  the  shale,  have 
been*  the  causes  of  considerable  expenditures.  In  a  few 
instances  pockets  of  an  impure  variety  of  coal  were  found, 
its  only  importance,  however,  was  to  increase  the  mania 
for  coal  digging.  The  finding  of  these  pockets  of  coal  has 
also  been  the  cause  of  considerable  speculation.  One  of 
the  theories  most  frequently  met  with,  and  one  which 
seems  to  be  sincerely  believed  by  some  of  the  people  in 
that  locality  is  the  following:  "  Coal  lying  exposed  to  the 
atmospheric  agencies  for  a  considerable  length  of  time  has 
a  tendency  to  deteriorate,  or  to  *  lose  its  virtue,'  "  as  they 
say.  According  to  the  theory  all  this  slaty  mass  was  once 
pure  coal,  which  under  the  conditions  mentioned  has  be- 
come valueless,  except  in  patches  to  insignificant  for  prof- 
itable mining. 

I  did  not  succeed  in  finding  any  of  these  pockets  of 
coal,  but  at  many  of  the  places  where  I  stopped  the  peo- 
ple claimed  to  have  seen  and  possessed  specimens  of  it. 
Numerous  inquiries  to  be  shown  some  specimens  of  it  al- 

46 


ways  brought  about  a  search  for  the  article  in  question, 
but  in  no  instance  could  any  trace  of  it  be  brought  to  light. 

THE  CHEMUNQ  PERIOD. 

This  period,  which  is  the  next,  is  also  the  latest  geo- 
logical formation  occurring  in  our  county.  On  the  tops  of 
trie  highest  hills,  immediately  overlying  the  Genesee  Slate, 
will  be  found  some  sandstone  flags  interspersed  with  shale. 
These  are  the  lower  layers  of  the  Chemung  Period. 

There  are  several  sandstone  layers,  which  are  sepa- 
rated by  a  coarse  shale.  The  sandstone,  however,  is  usu- 
ally fine-grained,  and  breaks  with  a  smooth -even  fracture. 

As  the  exposures  of  this  formation  in  our  county  are 
few,  and  since  it  is  quite  difficult  to  reach  them,  situated 
as  they  are  on  the  tops  of  our  highest  hills,  we  will  find  it 
easier  as  well  as  more  satisfactory  to  study  this  group,  and 
make  our  collections  from  exposures  in  Cortland  county, 
just  south  of  us.  If,  however,  it  is  desirable  to  study  the 
formation  in  our  own  county,  exposures  may  be  found  in 
the  northwestern  part  of  Spafford  and  in  the  western  part 
of  Fabius. 

Fossils  are  more  numerous  than  in  the  Genesee  Slate, 
although  not  as  profuse  as  in  the  Hamilton  Beds.  The 
only  ones  which  we  have  secured  from  our  own  county, 
however,  are  some  crinoid  stems,  some  fucoides,  and  a 
strophomena.  All  of  these  were  secured  in  Fabius. 

Some  of  the  sandstones  are  used  in  making  whetstones ; 
the  superior  article  sold  by  the  Manlius  firm  is  obtained 
from  the  Chemung  Sandstones  at  Fabius.  In  Cortland 
county  the  flags  are  used  to  a  considerable  extent  for  side- 
walks. 


47 


14  DAY  USE 

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